Chiru vs Lion

Pantholops hodgsonii compared with Panthera leo

Key Differences

• Chiru is Near Threatened while Lion is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chiru	Lion
Kingdom same	Animalia (動物)	Animalia (動物)
Phylum same	Chordata (脊索動物)	Chordata (脊索動物)
Class same	Mammalia (哺乳類)	Mammalia (哺乳類)
Order	Artiodactyla (偶蹄目)	Carnivora (ネコ目)
Family	Bovidae (Bovids)	Felidae (Cats)
Genus	Pantholops	Panthera (Big Cats)
Species	Pantholops hodgsonii	Panthera leo

Evolutionary Relationship

Chiru and Lion share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (哺乳類)

Conservation Status

Chiru

NT — Near Threatened

Lion

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~23.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chiru	Lion
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	2.5 m
Average Weight	—	190.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chiru

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Lion

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 7 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Neotropic and Oceanian realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Chiru

The Chiru (Pantholops hodgsonii), also known as the Tibetan Antelope, is a bovid endemic to the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent high-altitude grasslands of China, with small populations in India. Males bear long, slender, nearly vertical horns that can exceed 70 centimetres in length, while females are hornless. The species is highly adapted to life at elevations of 3,700–5,500 metres, possessing a dense, fine underfur known as shahtoosh — one of the finest animal fibres in the world — which provided insulation against extreme cold but also made chiru a prime target for illegal poaching. Massive hunting pressure during the late twentieth century for shahtoosh shawl production devastated populations, which fell to as few as 75,000 individuals. Following intensified conservation efforts, trade bans, and anti-poaching patrols in China, numbers have partially recovered, though the species remains Near Threatened. Chiru are highly migratory; females undertake remarkable annual migrations of up to 300 kilometres to reach calving grounds in the Chang Tang plateau. Males typically remain at lower elevations year-round. They graze on grasses, sedges, and forbs, and face ongoing threats from climate change affecting high-altitude pasture productivity and from infrastructure development fragmenting migration corridors.

Lion

アフリカ最大の野生ネコ科動物で最大250kgに達し、サハラ以南のサバンナや草原に生息する唯一の社会性ネコ科動物です。雄は象徴的なたてがみで識別されます。頂点捕食者として草食動物の個体群を調節し、生態系のバランスを維持します。生息地の喪失と人間との軋轢により危急種に分類されています。